Arts in Action Day

Kilbourne has built a lot of incredible traditions and one that most students love each spring happened last Friday - Arts in Action Day.

I love Arts in Action day because we get to pause during lunch periods to honor and celebrate all of the incredible talent that abounds at Kilbourne.  But it is also filled with fun from face painting, salsa dancing, martial arts, theater thrift shopping, and, of course the throw down.

For the last few years we have also hosted a Healing Drumming Circle as a part of the Arts in Action Day festivities.  Sponsored by the WKHS Activity Club, the drumming is led by Master Drummer, Iggy Garcia, who has a niece and nephew at Kilbourne.  He brings drums and lots of other percussion instruments for students to be able to join in on the drumming experience.  It was fun to watch students try to drum along with Iggy and to hear the beats from the rhythms you all created together.  One of the aspects that I thought was incredibly powerful as I watched throughout the day was the fact that EVERYONE could participate in drumming.  There were honors students and students with special needs.  There were musically talented and musically challenged students.  There were students of every grade and from all different friend groups.  And throughout the four lunches, everyone who sat down and gave drumming a chance inevidetably ended up smiling and laughing at some point in time.  It's pretty rare for that to happen with any activity and a definite success in my mind.  If you came to drum with us, thanks for participating and I hope you enjoyed it.  

A huge thank you again to Activity Club and to Iggy Garcia for making this experience possible!

On a separate note, seniors, don't forget, tonight is Senior Recognition Night.  We'll see you in just a few hours to celebrate your accomplishments from the last 4 years.

Senior Wisdom

Seniors, 5 days left... it's getting real and starting to hit people how quickly this year is winding down.  I have had a chance to glance through some of the senior survey question insights and I really appreciate all of the feedback and impressions you have shared with us as a staff.  I am going to challenge you to share some of your key words of wisdom with the underclass students as well...

Over the next few weeks I suspect you will spend some time reflecting back on your high school career.  As you do, please consider passing along some of your words of wisdom.  You have created a positive impression and, as a result, many of the younger students look up to and admire you.  I'm sure you can remember some of the older students who made an impression on your life and this is your opportunity to pass along the gift of your wisdom to those who will continue in high school.  Let the younger students know what you are glad you did, what you wish you would have done differently, and any other suggestions and tips you'd given them to help them to be successful and make the most of their high school years.  As you share your insights, you may never fully realize the difference that you have made, but you can be sure that your legacy will continue to make a positive impact in the years ahead.

And, to the 9th-11th grade students, don't miss this opportunity to ask seniors for their insights and the awarenesses that they have now.  Chances are they have learned many of their most key lessons through overcoming challenges - if you can learn from their experiences you will be far better off in the long run.

Congratulations

We have so much to celebrate at the end of the year...

Last Friday we had the 2nd ceremony to induct students into the Socratic Society.  Staff members are given the opportunity to recognize students for excellence in one or more of the core Socratic values of Scholarship, Integrity, Personal Effort, Compassion, or Lifelong Learning.  Students are only eligible to be selected for this honor one time during their high school career.

There were 41 students honored for their selection into the Socratic Society including "my" students: (listed alphabetically) Alliyah Ahmed, Ehab Albzour, Mayra Alcantara Tellez, Rachel Baughman, Gray Beckett, Mikaela Bevelander, Nathaniel Birtcher, JaLiyah Boatman, Isabelle Borchers, Julia Borchers, and Caroline Campbell.

I am so proud of each of you for the impact you have on WKHS as a whole and I am grateful for your impact on my life as well.

Additionally, I realized that I haven't acknowledged that our eSports team won a State Championship last month!  The Overwatch team never gave up and worked hard to bring home the championship title.  A huge congratulations to my 2 current students who are on the Overwatch Team - Ivan Chivington and Savannah Clouse.  You deserve to be celebrated for your accomplishments.  Congratulations!

Parent Lunch & Learn

This Friday will be our final Lunch & Learn of the school year.  Our topic is Perfectionism.  And for many of our families this topic is something that can be a major struggle.  Some students are perfectionists with great grades and others are perfectionists with terrible grades.  We definitely see both sides of perfectionism among our students.  I hope that you will grab your lunch and make time to join us online on Friday from 12-12:30 for the brief zoom meeting.  The link to the session will be emailed home on Friday morning to all WKHS families and we will also post it on the counselor website.

AP & IB Exams

IB Exams have already started and over the next two weeks many WKHS students will continue with IB exams and others will be taking Advanced Placement Exams. The AP and IB exams are held on designated days and will be in designated locations throughout WKHS.  I know that many of you have been spending an extraordinary amount of time studying to prepare for the exams. Good Luck!  You will do great!  Remember, you have spent the whole year learning all of the content that you need to know in order to take the tests to hopefully earn the college credit. Stop by sometime and let me know how you felt after the tests.

It's Not a Race

Have you heard the quote about life is a marathon, not a sprint?  I had always heard it and kind of blown it off because, yes, of course it is more of a marathon - it is long and exhausting and there are days that feel better than others.  But a few months ago, I heard something that resonated with me far more and I keep thinking about it so I thought I should share it with you in case it makes sense to you too.

Life is not a race at all!

Life is like white water rafting.  Sometimes there are calm, smooth peaceful water.  Other times the rapids are tossing you all over the place.  And that description definitely made sense to me.  But the point is bigger than that.  When you go white water rafting, and in life, you are with people that matter to you.  You are spending time with people you love and you're (hopefully) enjoying your surroundings.  Usually when you go white water rafting you have a good sense about where you're going to end up, but it's not all about getting to that desitnation.  It is about the experiences you are making and sharing along the way.

Powerful way to think about life, isn't it?  If you think about it in terms of high school, you know that you are going to come to school for 180 days each school year for 4 years.  You know that you're going to have work to do, stuff to learn, tests to take, and projects to complete.  You know that some days will be smooth, easy sailing and others will be filled with rough water that can feel scary and overwhelming.  But what makes high school (and also life) more meaningful and what you will ultimately remember most in the future are the friendships you make, the people who help you on a bad day, the teachers who support, guide and challenge you, and the journey that you are all on together.

So no, life is not a race.  You are on a white water rafting journey.  Try to enjoy the ride (and don't forget to put on your life jacket as self care is key and always remember that no matter what, just keep paddling through!)

Also, tomorrow is Arts in Action day!  I hope you will come outside to the bridge area to drum with us!  It is always so much fun!

College Essay - Topics to Avoid

It's been a few weeks since our Essay Brainstorming workshop for the juniors.  Have you continued to work on your blue sheet to come up with ideas that appropriately help describe you and can potentially transition into college essays for you in the future?  I hope so.  Don't let it slide too far into the back of your mind and continue to work on it periodically even if it is just 5-10 minutes a week to come up with some more "that's so you" stories or reflecting on times you have changed.

We talked a little about some of the cliche essays that you likely want to avoid because they are overdone and won't make you stand out. I wanted to share a few more "avoid this" reminders for you.

- Some essays are simply predictable.  Even if you're trying to make it unique, the colleges know better.  So, for example, if you write an essay with a 3rd person and then try to say the unique thing is the "twist" and it is really about you, they actually already knew that as they were reading it.  This is not a strategy that tends to work.

- If you focus only on the story without the reflection, you're writing about someone else who has impacted you, or you stay focused on something from a long time ago in the past without tying it back into you today, then you are missing the opportunity to give the college insight into who you are today.  You need to have the reflection and do it within the word count given.

- Remember that it doesn't have to be a BIG thing in your life.  Small moments are perfect.  This is an essay, not a life memoir or complete biography about yourself.  As a result, don't try to embelish the story to make it more dramatic.

- Watch your tone.  You need for the essay to sound genuinely like YOU.  Not a thesaurus, not AI, not your parents or your teacher.  You also need to make sure that it doesn't sound elitest (I am the greatest/ unlike other people), defeated (oh poor me), and that the way you're writing it translates to whomever is reading it.  This usually comes from having lots of people reading it to make sure that the tone is sounding genuine to you without rubbing people the wrong way.  (Which also means you have to be open to editing your essay lots before you ultimately submit it!)

As we discussed in the workshop, you CAN still write about one of these topics, but it just tends to be more challenging because if you are picking a common topic like these then you need to work to make uncommon connections.  If, on the other hand, you pick a unique topic that hasn't been overdone, you are safe to make common connections.